Variability of soil radon attributed to meteorologic causes and its application

Abstract

The meteorologic effects on soil radon is dealt with. The observations during a year at fixed locations show a clear pattern of seasonal variations of soil radon which is grossly lower during spring and summer, lowest in summer, and higher during autumn and winter, highest in winter. A fall of rain or snow usually brings about a steep rise of soil radon concentration. At 0℃ or so, especially below 0℃, radon values descend greatly. Besides seasonal variations, soil radon concentration also has diurnal changes, with a pattern of lower values at noon and higher values in the early morning and in the evening. From the vertical profile, an optimum depth for the measurement, which is 65-75 cm, is recognized, where the radon value is maximal and diurnal variations are minimal. At last, measures are put forward to reduce or remove meteorologic effects on soil radon in application.